Research Leadership Institute participants now research partners

Sept. 13, 2024
Leslie Hawthorne Klingler, Research Development Services, RII
Two women in front of a palo verde


By Leslie Hawthorne Klingler, Research Development Service, RII

— Tucson, AZ —

Two 2023-2024 Research Leadership Institute (RLI) cohort members are combining their diverse expertise and perspectives in a new research collaboration focusing on strokes.

Ashley Snider, PhD, Professor in Nutritional Sciences and Wellness, was recently awarded $50,000 for "Investigating Acid Ceramidase: A Key to Understanding Microglial Response in Stroke" through the RII Accelerate for Success Grant. Fellow RLI cohort member Helena Morrison, PhD, RN, Associate Professor in the College of Nursing, is Co-PI on the project.

Stroke is the sixth leading cause of death in the U.S., and annually, more than 795,000 U.S. residents suffer a stroke. Clinical interventions are limited, and the risk of permanent damage and death from a stroke is higher in marginalized communities.

By embarking on this study, Snider and Morrison aim to improve stroke victims’ quality of life, particularly among underserved populations. Their research will focus on finding new ways to help people recover by reducing the inflammation that occurs in the brain after a stroke. The scientists are particularly interested in a molecule called acid ceramidase (AC), which might play a key role in how brain cells called microglia respond to a stroke.

Morrison will contribute her expertise on how microglial cells behave as post-stroke injury progresses from the acute to chronic stages. She says, “Introducing AC into stroke research represents a novel approach to advancing stroke therapeutics discovery, further supported by the work of Dr. Kristian Doyle from the University of Arizona's Department of Immunology.”

Snider and Morrison expressed gratitude for the connections they formed through the Research Leadership Institute: "RLI was an amazing experience, and now Helena and I get to work together on some amazing science," said Snider. Morrison echoed her support for RLI, adding, “Science is always challenging, but it thrives with good collaborations.”